Back To Back Wins For U18s

Gareth Evans praised his U18s side as they fought off a tough challenge from older opposition - beating Penicuik Athletic U20s 3-0 on Monday night.

A long-distance drive from Rudi Molotnikov gave the wee Hibees the lead before Owen Hastie and Reece Holden found the net in the second half to cap off an excellent win.

After a successful season last year, many of Gareth Evans U18s graduated from youth football at the end of the 2021/22 campaign. Youngsters Jacob Blaney, Josh McCulloch, Oscar MacIntyre, Murray Aiken, Robbie Hamilton, Josh O’Connor, Malik Zaid, and Murray Johnson all making the step up to the Hibs Dev Squad.

That means this year, there is a chance for lots of new younger faces in the U18 squad to shine.

Speaking after the win, Evans told hibernianfc.co.uk how proud he was of his side's performance and stepping up to the challenge.

"It is always a good test when you are playing younger players against the older lads. Our U18s is a very young team this year, a lot of our boys are in their first year playing U18 football and were born in 2006 so it is always a test when you play older teams.

"They (Penicuik Athletic) were very organised and competitive, so we were pleased to go in 1-0 up at the break.

"Rudi Molotnikov scored a very good goal to put us in front. Then in the second half, our superior fitness and passing of the ball shone through and we added a couple more."

The result builds momentum for the wee Hibees ahead of the new season - backing up their 3-2 victory over Sheffield United last week, with another win.

"They certainly put up a good fight. There is a big difference in age, considering a lot of our boys are still 15 or 16 years old and we were up against their U20, so that is always a good challenge.

"This is a new group with a lot of younger players. We start our league programme a week on Friday so it was great preparation for our league campaign later this month."